Custody Evaluations

CUSTODY EVALUATIONS

A custody evaluation is an intensive investigation dictated by
Section 107.101 of the Texas Family Code. Because of the
invasiveness and the amount of time required for a custody
evaluation, this service should be ordered only in those cases with
severe or complex issues and as a “last resort." Court Services
and the Cooperative Parenting Readiness/Parenting Coordination
services should be utilized first.

No Stone Left Unturned

A custody evaluation includes interviews of the parties, children,
any other persons residing in the home of any party (and collateral
references as needed); home visits; criminal, CPS, medical and
psychological histories of all parties and any other persons residing
in the home of any party. A recommendation as to primary care may be
made after completing the elements listed in Section 107.109 of the
Texas Family Code. A written report may be generated as set out below.

A custody evaluation takes a microscopic view of the entire family.
Your children will be interviewed and observed in office appointments
and/or home visits. We do our best to maintain the dignity of all
involved, but we cannot skip steps. The best way to avoid the
potential invasiveness of a custody evaluation is to work with your
caseworker to use the information to make compromises and improve
communication with the other parent so agreements can be reached about
your children. Our caseworkers are skilled and knowledgeable - they
can help move you and your children through these hard times.

what you need to know

Only orders generated by the judge or agreed to by Family Court
Services will be accepted. State Bar forms or ProDocs are not
appropriate, nor is it appropriate for attorneys/parties to agree to
a custody evaluation without the agreement of Family Court Services.

Only a judge may initiate a custody evaluation. If parties
and/or their attorneys would like to agree to a court service or a
custody evaluation, all attorneys and parties must come to the FCS
office to consult with Family Court Services, discuss the case, and
obtain our agreement to the services. There is a caseworker on duty
Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to handle these intakes
and no appointment is necessary.

Provide a copy of the order to FCS and appear for intake. We
have no way of knowing that a custody evaluation has been ordered –
all attorneys and parties must appear in our offices to provide us
with a copy of the order and participate in intake. The intake process
is the opportunity for the attorneys to present each side of the
issues with the caseworker on duty. The intake gives Family Court
Services a clear idea of what information or service is needed to
assist the Court and the families involved in the family court system.
All clients and attorneys must participate in intake in the Family
Court Services office before services will begin.

The custody evaluation will not be assigned or initiated until the
parties have participated in intake and paid all fees. Attorneys
and parties must participate in the intake process. The custody
evaluation will not be assigned or initiated until all parties and
attorneys have participated in intake, and all custody
evaluation fees are paid in full. Pay the fees in the Tarrant County
Child Support office on the second floor of the Family Law Courthouse,
across the foyer from Family Court Services offices. A fee payment
slip will be provided during the intake process.

Orientation is required for all parties using any services through
Family Court Services. Orientation is free to the public and
available every Wednesday, except for the Wednesday prior to
Thanksgiving, and the week of Christmas. The Orientation begins at
8:45 a.m. sharp and lasts until approximately 11 a.m. Late arrivals
who have been court ordered to attend may be turned away.Read
more information about the orientation.

Personal Data Form. ThePersonal Data Form must be
completed by the client in full at time of first scheduled
office visit, or the office visit shall be rescheduled. Click here for
a printable copy of the Personal Data Form. Personal Data Form (Spanish)

It is the attorney’s/parties' responsibility to confirm payment of
fees. FCS does not keep track of whether parties pay their fees.
The judges generally do not grant continuances if parties have failed
to pay or otherwise take the necessary steps to get a custody
evaluation started and completed in a timely manner.

A custody evaluaton investigation requires a minimum of 90
days. Assuming all parties cooperate in making and keeping
appointments, a custody evaluation will take a minimum of 90 days from
the date the fees are paid in full. Please set all follow-up hearings
and conferences on a custody evaluation for at least 90 days out from
the day the evaluation fees are paid in full by all parties.

The caseworker must be timely notified of any court settings or
other essential dates in which (s)he may be involved. We have no
way of knowing when hearings or trials are set -- the attorney or pro
se party must timely notify us. If you want the caseworker available
to testify, please give adequate notice (as soon as you know, you
should call or email the assigned caseworker). Local rules require
that we receive the same notice time as any attorney in the case.
Failure to timely notify the caseworker means the caseworker’s
presence cannot be guaranteed or required. Subpoenas are unnecessary
to ensure that a caseworker will be available to testify – just give
the caseworker timely notice.

Subpoenas are not necessary. As long as notice is timely
received, the caseworker will make arrangements to be available for
testifying if requested by an attorney or by a pro se party. The
caseworker will appear for testimony without the necessity of being
served with a subpoena. The caseworker’s records will be made
available to attorneys upon advance notice, for the cost of copying
(currently 30 cents per page) and no subpoenas are necessary for
attorneys to obtain a caseworker's records. Pro se litigants may
review the records in the FCS offices with advance notice; however,
FCS does not release hard copies of the caseworker's records to
litigants unless ordered to do so by the court. Due to privacy
laws, FCS cannot provide medical, psychiatric or psychological, or
criminal background records except by court order. Under no
circumstances may FCS provide our un-redacted copies of CPS records,
even by court order.

Travel Costs must be paid in advance. The party will be
required to pre-pay the estimated cost of any travel required for a
home visit that is over 50 miles one-way. This includes mileage
(currently 56 cents per mile), airfare, parking, taxis, meals ($40 per
diem for a full day), gas, tolls, car rental, hotel, etc. The assigned
caseworker will contact the paying and visiting party to organize
logistics, determine costs and direct payment of those costs.

Custody Evaluation reports shall not be distributed to
litigants. For the protection of these families and their future,
our courts have determined that copies of custody evaluation reports
are not to be distributed to parties, even those parties representing
themselves. Attorneys must sign an agreement not to distribute the
custody evaluation report to parties or their agents. The copies are
for FCS, the attorneys, court-sanctioned professionals and court use
only in the case in which the custody evaluation was ordered. An
attorney may allow their client to read the custody evaluation report
in his/her office. However, FCS recommends that the best practice is
for the attorney to discuss the custoday evaluation report in detail
with the party and present the information in a way that best suits
the client. Regardless, attorneys may not give a copy of the custody
evaluation report to their client or allow the client to photograph or
otherwise copy the report. FCS and the courts recommend that
attorneys use good judgment in presenting the sometimes difficult
information in custody evaluation reports to their clients. Pro se
parties may read the custody evaluation report and take notes in the
FCS offices, but may not have a hard copy, photograph or otherwise
copy the report. Custody evaluation reports shall be filed with the
court as directed by the court local rules and will not be
available as a public record.

Attorney conferences, custody evaluation recommendation letter, and
written reports. When a custody evaluation investigation has
been completed, the attorney or the pro se party will receive a letter
from the caseworker stating the investigation is completed and
designating a time frame for setting a conference with the caseworker
to review his/her findings. This process is intended to inform
attorneys/pro se parties of the caseworker’s conclusions and help in
settlement decisions. If you find a written custody evaluation
report is still needed, it needs to be discussed with the caseworker
at the conference. Section 107.114(c) of the Texas Family Code does
not require a written custody evaluation report earlier than five days
before trial but the caseworkers will generally try to accommodate
specific requests for a written report prior to that time for good
cause. It is the attorneys' and pro se party’s responsibility to give
the caseworker 30-day notice of final trial date if a written custody
evaluation report is needed.

Conclusion of custody evaluation. After the investigation and
conference is completed, the caseworker will not engage in further
investigation, monitoring, updates or addendums. If additional
services or investigation become necessary after the caseworker has
completed the initial services, you will need to obtain a new court
order (either through the judge or by agreement with FCS) for
additional services and additional fees must be paid, prior to the
investigation being re-opened.

TARRANT COUNTY, TEXAS

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